Krishna Das – “Om Namah Sivaya”

Posted February 28, 2014

Om Namah Shivaya!

Maha Shivaratri (also Shivratri) is celebrated on February 27, 2014, by Hindus all over the world. This festival glorifies the Hindu god Shiva, the lord of cosmic destruction and dance. The festival is celebrated on the 14th night of the new moon during the Hindu lunar month of Phalguna.

The celebration of Maha Shivaratri begins with a night vigil leading up to the day of the festival during which many Shiva devotees fast and offer special prayers. Shiva is worshiped in the form of a lingam, a vertical, rounded column, representing the male creative force and the infinite, indescribable nature of God, and the yoni which represents female creative energy. Together they represents the totality of creation. Together it represents the union of organs, and the totality of creation.

The celebration of Maha Shivaratri is attributed to several tales in Hindu mythology. One of the most popular tales traces its origins to samudra manthan, or churning of the ocean of milk. According to this belief, when the gods and demons were churning the ocean of milk to obtain amrita (drink of immortality), they came across many unusual substances including a deadly poison. Terrified, the gods approached Shiva for help, and out of compassion for all living beings, Shiva swallowed the poison. The poison was so potent that it turned his neck to blue.

Download a free 20-minute ‘Living Spirit’ Meditation with Ram Dass

Join over 90,000 fellow seekers who receive updates on free courses, retreats, and new tools and methods to help you to integrate wisdom teachings into your life.

Support the Love Serve Remember Foundation

Subscribe to the LSRF Mailing List

Subscribe to the Ram Dass Here and Now Podcast

NEW PODCAST

Veil of Tears

When we have any kind of mystical or ineffable experience, it upsets our apple cart. It upsets the security of our separateness. We get attached to our separateness and become afraid of losing it. And out of that comes greed, lust, anxiety and fear... Listen Here >

Help Support These Teachings

If you enjoyed Krishna Das – “Om Namah Sivaya”, please support our efforts to continue making
teachings from Ram Dass and friends accessible to all. As Ram Dass says, "When you
see the beloved all around you, everyone is family and everywhere is love." Learn more >

I would like to make a contribution of:

Please do not
use the back button or click submit more than once while your order is
processing.